Day 1,215, Quasi-Quarantine: Magical Realism, Alternate History, And Takedown Of Colonialism Collide In "Babel"

"History isn't a premade tapestry that we've got to suffer, a closed world with no exit. We can form it. Make it. We just have to choose to make it."

A sprawling, fantastical tale, "Babel" underpins discussions of colonialism and racism through the creation of a silver industrial revolution, ascribing magical properties to silver that is unlocked only through foreign translations.

If that sounds complicated, it's because it is, and R.F. Kuang doesn't duck any hard work in weaving these disparate threads. Cantonese student Robin Swift arrives at the Royal Institute of Translation -- nicknamed "Babel" -- and joins a cohort of students with similar backgrounds. As the quartet falls in love with Oxford, cracks in the facade begin to appear and a secret society beckons.

"Bit by bit London grew to feel less overwhelming, less like a belching, contorted pit of monsters that might swallow him at any corner and more like a navigable maze whose tricks and turns he could anticipate."

As we slide toward a fairly predictable ending, Swift and his allies seek to avert a war by sacrificing their discipline, their home, and their future. Along the way, however, the author struggles to ascribe more than shared sacrifice to the cohort's relationships. 

Kuang spends little to no time exploring attractions and emotions shared between the foursome, a seemingly odd decision based on the actions of college students. As well, it felt confusing that the cohort -- brilliant by all indications -- struggled to cohere any sort of plan to deal with a traumatic event over the course of six weeks at sea.

"But they could not touch that abyss of grief. It was too early yet to give it a name, to shape and tame it with words, and any attempt would crush them. They could only wipe the blood from their skin and try to keep breathing."

However, something was bound to be lost in the -- forgive me -- translation with so many different themes and storylines in play. The overall result is a stunning achievement by Kuang, who manages to build a grim, compelling, and emotional story out of reams of silver threads.

"It revealed more than the power of translation. It revealed the sheer dependence of the British, who, astonishingly, could not manage to do basic things like bake bread or get safely from one place to another without words stolen from other countries."